This invention relates generally to toys and more particularly to motor driven mobiles.
Motor driven mobiles for securement to cribs of infants have been disclosed in the patent literature and are commercially available. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,927,482 (Marcus) discloses an electric motor powered mobile. The electrical power is provided via household current to the mobile. A conventional mechanical music box is incorporated in the mobile and it is operated by rotation of the mobile to produce music. An on-off switch provides control of the motor. In the U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,181 (Hyman) there is disclosed an electrically powered mobile which includes an electronic circuit including an integrated circuit chip and an associated loudspeaker to produce synthesized music as the mobile rotates. Appropriate switch controls are provided to vary the tune, tonal quality, key, tempo and loudness of the music produced by the electronic circuit.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,696 (Hyman) discloses a motor operated mobile which includes sound activated switch means to effect the actuation of the motor to rotate the mobile in response to the detection of sound in the vicinity of the mobile.
Other prior art patents relating to mobiles are as follows: U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,681,310 (Reiner); and 3,919,795 (Jinivisian et al.).
While the foregoing prior art devices appear generally suitable for their intended purposes, they still leave much to be desired from the standpoint of functionality, utility and applicability of usage.